Transgender candidate could become a first in NYC

NEW YORK (AP) — Mel Wymore (WEYE’-mohr) is a typical city council candidate in many ways. He’s campaigning in New York as a community board appointee, ex-PTA chair and founder of local organizations.

But Wymore’s community-leader resume has an unusual feature. He built much of it while he was a woman.

If he wins, Wymore would be the first openly transgender officeholder in the nation’s biggest city and one of only a handful ever in the United States.

The 51-year-old systems engineer says he wants to make communities inclusive, for reasons beyond his personal identity. But he also says his personal experience shows he’s forthright and “willing to stand up for change.”

The Democrat faces several opponents who also have long records of community involvement on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.